Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report
Weekly Geopolitical Report – Moving Fast and Breaking Things: Mohammad bin Salman, Part III (December 11, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady In Part I of this report, we began with a brief background of Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) and discussed the surprise arrests of many leading figures in Saudi society, including several members of the royal family, that occurred the weekend of November 4. In Part II, we examined the forced resignation of Saad… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – Moving Fast and Breaking Things: Mohammad bin Salman, Part II (December 4, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady Two weeks ago, we introduced this report and covered the mass arrests that took place in Saudi Arabia over the weekend of November 4, when several princes and notable figures were detained. The official reason given for the arrests was corruption, but many have speculated that the move was a cover for Mohammad… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – Moving Fast and Breaking Things: Mohammad bin Salman, Part I (November 20, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady (N.B.: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the next edition of this report will be published December 4.) Last summer, King Salman surprised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) by demoting Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef and replacing him with one of the king’s sons, Mohammad bin Salman (MbS).[1] In the months preceding the… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – The Situation in Catalonia: Part II (November 13, 2017)
by Thomas Wash In Part I of our report, we examined the historical background of the Catalan independence movement. This week, we will continue our discussion by summarizing the constitutional crisis, identifying the significant players and their motives, noting the possible outcomes and concluding with market ramifications. Constitutional Crisis: A Summary In addition to the historical… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – The Situation in Catalonia: Part I (November 6, 2017)
by Thomas Wash On October 27, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy triggered Article 155 of Spain’s constitution. This allowed him to dissolve the Catalan Parliament, also known as the Generalitat, and hold new regional elections on December 21, 2017. Tensions between the Catalan government and the Spanish government reached a boiling point following the Catalan government’s… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – North Korea and China: A Difficult History, Part III (October 30, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady In Part I of our report, we reviewed the Minsaengdan Incident and a broad examination of the Korean War. In Part II, we completed our analysis of the war, discussed the Kim regime’s autarkic policy of Juche and outlined the impact of the Cultural Revolution on North Korean/Chinese relations. This week, Part III… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – North Korea and China: A Difficult History, Part II (October 23, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady Last week, we examined the Minsaengdan Incident and the onset of the Korean War. This week, we will discuss the final phase of the Korean War, the ceasefire, the introduction of Juche and the impact of the Cultural Revolution. The Korean War: The Latter Stages of the War and the Ceasefire Among the… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – North Korea and China: A Difficult History, Part I (October 16, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady The U.S. and North Korea have had a difficult history. The two countries were the primary combatants during the Korean War and still have not established a peace treaty. However, in the late 1970s, the Kim regime and the Carter administration considered normalizing relations. Carter’s national security team concluded there was little value… Read More »
Weekly Geopolitical Report – The Four Horsemen of Leveling: A Book Review (October 9, 2017)
by Bill O’Grady Occasionally, we find a book that has such an interesting message that we dedicate a Weekly Geopolitical Report to reviewing it. This week, we will look at The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel.[1] The book is an extensive historical analysis of inequality and the factors that reduce it. In this report, we will… Read More »